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WSOP Circuit Bratislava Awards First Ring as Mini Main Nears Finish

mrinal-gujare
Editor
Last updated: Mon 03 Aug 2026 21:48
The WSOP Circuit Bratislava festival, ongoing at Card Casino Šamorín, saw record participation in its €350 Mini Main Event, with 1,709 entries generating a €519,536 prize pool. Hungary’s Benjamin Lakatos leads the nine-handed final table with a commanding chip advantage. Italy’s Vincenzo Lapenna secured his first WSOP Circuit ring by winning the €800 NLH Bounty Hunter for €18,226. The festival, featuring a full schedule of ring events and sizable guarantees, continues through August 11, promising more exciting poker action and new champions.
Mrinal Gujare 1 hour ago
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  • Benjamin Lakatos leads Mini Main Event final table with a dominant stack.
  • Vincenzo Lapenna wins his first WSOP Circuit ring and €18,226 in €800 Bounty Hunter.
  • Record-breaking attendance and prize pools set tone for ongoing Bratislava festival.
Image by Card Casino
Benjamin Lakatos holds a massive chip lead as nine players reach the €350 Mini Main Event final table at WSOP Circuit Bratislava. Meanwhile, Italy's Vincenzo Lapenna won Ring Event #4: €800 NLH Bounty Hunter for €18,226 and his first ring.

The 2026 WSOP Circuit Bratislava continued on Sunday at Card Casino Šamorín, located just outside Bratislava, Slovakia. Running through August 11, the festival features 12 WSOP Circuit Ring Events and more than €2.8 million in total guarantees. 

Sunday brought significant action across multiple tournaments, culminating in the setting of the Mini Main Event final table and the crowning of the festival's first gold ring winner.

Benjamin Lakatos Leads Record-Breaking Mini Main Event Final Table

The €350 Mini Main Event concluded its starting flights after drawing an additional 329 entries in the final Day 1E hyper turbo flight. 

This brought the overall attendance to 1,709 entries, creating a final prize pool of €519,536 that nearly doubled the original guarantee and exceeded last year's figures. A total of 171 players returned for Day 2 on Sunday, playing down to the final nine contenders. 

Hungary’s Benjamin Lakatos maintained and extended his lead throughout the day, bagging a dominant chip lead of 20,500,000, which represents 205 big blinds for the final table. 

Italy’s Fabio Giamberardini follows in second place with 13,225,000, while Austria’s Jozef Stern sits in third with 8,475,000.

After Boris Progner was eliminated on the final table bubble in tenth place, Miroslav Salaj, who bagged 3,250,000, remains as the sole representative for the host nation. 

The final table features a shallow average stack of just 25 big blinds, with the bottom five players holding between 10 and 16 big blinds. 

The eventual champion will take home the €85,000 top prize, a WSOP Circuit ring, and a $5,000 package to WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas.

Vincenzo Lapenna Claims Career-First Ring in €800 NLH Bounty Hunter

The first gold ring of the 2026 WSOP Circuit Bratislava festival was awarded in Ring Event #4: €800 NLH Bounty Hunter. The one-day event attracted 174 entries to surpass the €75,000 guarantee and establish a total prize pool of €119,016, which included €43,500 allocated for bounties.

Italy’s Vincenzo Lapenna secured the title late into the night, earning his first WSOP Circuit ring, a top payout of €18,226, bounty prizes, and an entry package to WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas this December. 

According to The Hendon Mob, the victory marks Lapenna's first recorded live tournament win. He defeated Hungary's Daniel Koloszar heads-up, who received €12,100 for his runner-up finish. Slovakia’s Peter Varga recorded the highest finish for the host country, taking third place for €8,280.

Activity across the festival schedule continued with two other ring events on Sunday. Ring Event #3, the €550 PLO Opener, launched with its Day 1a flight. Meanwhile, Ring Event #2, the €550 Mystery Bounty tournament, ran its second starting flight.
mrinal-gujare
Mrinal Gujare

Sports Editor • 20+ years betting experience

As a seasoned poker editor, Mrinal dived into the real money gaming industry in 2020. With extensive experience in handling digital, print and social media, Mrinal covers all the latest news updates, features and more from the poker universe.

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